Mangaluru, May 3: Officers of Customs at Mangalore International Airport (MIA) at Kenjar here on May 2 seized 11-kgs of 'Tashrifat' brand Iranian saffron approximately valued at Rs 13,75,000 from a passenger Moideen Salman, who arrived from Dubai.
The passenger had concealed the saffron along with clothes and other personal effects inside two carton boxes which he brought along with him as his checked in baggage.
Moideen Salman, 23, who arrived at MIA at 7:50am by Jet Airways Flight 9W531 from Dubai, is a resident of Kasargod, Kerala. Further investigation is under progress, N Udayashankaran, assistant commissioner of customs, airport stated.
Incidentally, the best quality Iranian saffron is valued at Rs 2 lakh/kg and Iran accounts for 95% of global production. It takes 1 lakh flowers to produce 1 kg of saffron, and output is typically just half a kg per hectare.
Comments
Add new comment